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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24189604">this modern love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/solopigeon/pseuds/solopigeon'>solopigeon</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>WTFock | Skam (Belgium)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Family, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Weddings, britt wie?, jens and Lucas are a background couple, just straight up cuteness, robbe and sander have a lil baby named Lotte and she is precious</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-03 00:29:21</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,513</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24189604</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/solopigeon/pseuds/solopigeon</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Moments like these are just for them. It makes Robbe happy, because he has a loving husband beside him, sleepy and beautiful. He has a daughter; she has robbe’s wild brown hair and sander’s wild personality. She's everything. Sander is everything. </p><p>Robbe is so lucky. He thinks, for the first time in his life, he is truly happy. </p><p> </p><p>or, Robbe and Sander growing up, living life, and loving each other</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sander Driesen/Robbe IJzermans</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>93</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>this modern love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>There's so much love in Robbe’s life now. </p><p>He wakes up every morning to warm arms around him, bleach blond hair. He wakes up to Sander, warm and soft and vulnerable.</p><p>Sander in the morning is Robbe's favorite version of Sander. He's always so tough on the outside; the cool art kid with his leather jacket and band t-shirts. Here, all warm and sleepy, is a startling contrast to how he normally is. </p><p>Sometimes, Robbe will wake up, and walk out into the living room, and Sander will be sitting on the floor with Lotte in his lap, glueing macaroni to a piece of construction paper. Lotte loves macaroni art. They have at least 5 pasta covered papers tacked to their fridge.</p><p> There's other pictures on the fridge too; a picture of them when the first started dating, laying in Robbe’s bed with wide smiles on their faces, a picture of them on their wedding day, Robbe wearing simple tux and Sander in a black suit, holding each other as they swayed on the dance floor, a picture of Sander carrying Robbe on his back as they run across the beach with their friends, and a picture of Robbe and Lotte that Sander had taken on his old camera, Robbe sitting sleep deprived on their couch with baby Lotte in his arms. Robbe doesn't know it, but that's Sanders' favorite photo he’s ever taken. </p><p>It's a Saturday, so they have time to waste. Robbe gets up quietly and goes to the kitchen to make coffee, bringing back 2 cups and setting them on the bedside table. He settles back into bed, sighing happily as Sander snuggles into his side. </p><p>“Hey,” Robbe whispers quietly, kissing Sander’s forehead, “i made some coffee.” Sander groans and wraps his arms around Robbe’s waist. “My angle,” he says into Robbe’s chest. <br/>This is Robbe's Sander, the one only he gets to see. </p><p>“How are you doing?” Robbe gently threads his fingers through the bleached locks. Sander had been in bed for a few days, after an episode, but he was getting better. Lotte was at Robbe’s mum’s house, so she didn't have to see her dad when he was down. </p><p>“Better,” Sander murmurs softly. “I need to shower.” Robbe nods; Sander’s hair is greasy between his fingers. “Alright then, after we drink our coffee, we will get out of bed, and you can take a shower, and then we can go get Lotte from my mom’s, yeah?”  </p><p>Sander sits up and blinks his eyes open slowly. Robbe hands him the other cup of coffee and presses a gentle kiss to Sander’s cheek. Sander scrunches up his nose in response. “Cutie,” Robbe whispers before taking a sip of his coffee. </p><p>Moments like these are just for them. It makes Robbe happy, because he has a loving husband beside him, sleepy and beautiful. He has a daughter; she has robbe’s wild brown hair and sander’s wild personality. She's everything. Sander is everything. </p><p>Robbe is so lucky. He thinks, for the first time in his life, he is truly happy. </p><p>-------</p><p>The night that Sander proposes to him is a night like any other. </p><p>You would think, as Sander is Sander, that it would be something loud and flashy, thoughtful and romantic. </p><p>They are curled up on their couch in their flat. Robbe is sick, just a mild cold, and he is resting underneath heaps of blankets. </p><p>Everything is warm and fuzzy and perfect, even though his throat burns with every swallow of tea that he takes. </p><p>Sander is snuggled up beside him, arms wrapped around Robbe’s torso. They are watching some artsy black and white movie that Sander put on, and Robbe has lost track of the plot about an hour in. </p><p>His eyes are heavy with sleep and tiredness. </p><p>Sander kisses Robbe’s burning forehead. “Do you want some more tea?” </p><p>Robbe nods tiredly. “Yes please.”</p><p>Sander untangles himself from Robbe and moves to their kitchen. </p><p>The ring is in his pocket; he has carried it with him for months on end. </p><p>Sander knew Robbe was the only one for him. He knew it when he met Robbe and they spun around on shopping carts while listening to Bowie, he knew when they kissed in that frigid pool in the dead of night, he knew when Robbe held him up in the art building as he cried, because Robbe was there and real and he loved Sander despite everything. </p><p>Robbe has always held him up. </p><p>And he is sitting there, huddled under blankets, tired eyes trying to make sense of Sander's weird and obscure movie choice. </p><p>And Sander loves him. </p><p>So he takes the ring out of his pocket, and he goes and stands in front of the couch, in front of Robbe.</p><p>“Robbe?”</p><p>“Yeah?” doe eyes look up at him tiredly. </p><p>And god, Sander loves him so much. </p><p>“Robbe.”</p><p>And Sander kneels in front of him. </p><p>“What are you doing?”</p><p>Robbe pushes himself into a sitting position. His eyes are glazed with fever and emotion.</p><p>And Sander holds out the ring. </p><p>“Robbe ijzermans, my Robin. I fell in love with you when i was 18, and i haven't stopped since, and i don't think i ever will. You hold me up when I can't hold up myself. You make me smile every day. You stick by me, through good days and bad. I know we're young, and there's so much life left for us to live, but I don't want to live the rest of my life without you. will you marry me?”</p><p>And there is a moment of silence, and Sander realizes that Robbe is crying. </p><p>“Robbe?”</p><p>For a moment, Sander thinks that he was going to say no.</p><p>“Is that even a question? Of course I'll marry you.”</p><p>And Sander laughes, and surges forward to scoop Robbe into a hug. They are both crying, wide smiles on their faces. Robbe is on Sander's lap, arms around his neck, pressing small kisses onto Sander's cheeks. </p><p>“You know that I would never say no to you, right? Not in any universe. I love you so much. And I want to be with you forever. You make me so happy; you're more than everything i've ever wanted.”</p><p>Sander laughs and kisses him. And kisses him and kisses him and kisses him, because he is his Robbe, his fiance, his world. </p><p>And he pulles away, slips the ring onto Robbe’s finger. It’s his old ring that he wore all during collage, thin and wide and made of silver, now tarnished from time. </p><p>Robbe smiles down at the sight of that ring on his finger. </p><p>And Sander smiles at the sight of his future husband, flushed cheeks and glossy eyes, dimples prominent on his cheeks. </p><p>Robbe has never been so beautiful.</p><p>And if they both fall asleep on the couch that night, that isn’t a problem. And if Sander stays home for the next two days because he’s sick with the same cold Robbe had, well, that IS no one's business but his own. </p><p> - - - - - - - - </p><p>They get married in May in a park in Antwerp. It’s a small wedding, just their family and friends. It’s not what Sander talked about all those years ago in that hotel room; there’s no white Tesla and they don’t show up naked. </p><p>Sander wears a black suit and his docs (of course), and Robbe wears a simple tuxedo. Sander has seen Robbe in a suit before, of course. Robbe wore a suit when they went to Jens’ and Luc's wedding, but this time it was different.</p><p>It was surprising that Jens and Luc got married before them, in some ways. They had fallen in love even quicker than Robbe and Sander. Jens had set his eyes on Luc and just knew that he was going to fall in love with that boy, and Luc had been drawn to Jens’ easy smile and his charming attitude. </p><p>Sander had never really doubted that he and Robbe were going to get married, it was always going to happen, some way or another, but now it actually was happening. </p><p>He doesn't want to sound like a sap, but when he sees Robbe his heart stops. </p><p>Robbe looks more handsome than Sander has ever seen him. This beautiful, brown haired, smiling boy is going to be his, forever. </p><p>“Look at you,” Sander says, scooping Robbe into a hug. Robbe laughs and wraps his arms around Sander's neck. Robbe pulls back and presses his lips against Sander’s for a brief second. </p><p>“Look at you,” Robbe replies, giving Sander a once over and looking back up with a smile. Sander laughs and runs his hands through Robbe’s hair, messing it all up, the way he likes it.</p><p>“Hey hey hey! Time has been spent on making my hair look good and now you've gone and messed it up!”</p><p>“You care about your hair?” Sander says, messing it up even more and kissing the underside of Robbe’s jaw. </p><p>“Not usually, but today, yes,” Robbe says, laughing and squirming out of Sander’s grasp. </p><p>“Ok ok, sorry,” Sander says and pulls Robbe back to him, “come here, i'll fix your hair.”</p><p>He smooths Robbe’s hair back into place, then kisses his nose until Robbe giggles and pushes him away. </p><p>“You ready to do this, cutie?” Sander asks quietly. Robbe nods. “Yes,” he says, brown eyes shining, smiling wide. </p><p>Sander can’t believe this boy is going to be his forever. Robbe is going to be his forever. And he will be Robbe’s forever. </p><p>The actual ceremony is short and sweet. Untraditional; Milan is the officiator and neither of them of them walk down the aisle because honestly fuck tradition. Sander’s best man is his sister Camille, and Robbe has Jens as his best man. </p><p>When it comes time, Robbe unfolds his vows, and starts to read with a small smile on his face. </p><p>“Sander, I met you when I was 16, when I was sad and alone and scared of who I was. And you came along, and you were the first person who truly cared about me. I was broken. And you made me smile. You always say that I saved you, just by staying with you and loving you, but it’s the opposite. You saved me. I will stay with you, no matter what. I will stand by your side, I will love you for as long as I have breath in my body. In every universe.”</p><p>And Sander is crying. And he can't stop. </p><p>Because god, Robbe is everything. </p><p>Robbe wipes his eyes and smiles at Sander, and then laughs and wipes his eyes again. Milan, who is smiling fondly at Robbe like a proud parent, is crying as well. He nods at Sander to indicate that it's his turn to read his vows next. Sander fumbles for the piece of paper in his pocket, and takes out his vows.</p><p>“I never really doubted that this day would come. Robbe, you're the best thing that has ever happened to me. I used to believe that I wouldn't find anyone who actually loved me, but then you showed up. I have loved you since the moment I saw you. I promise to never hurt you, to never leave you, to never let go of you. To love you, no matter what. You are everything. My Robin. And I am so happy that I get to be your husband.”</p><p>Sander’s voice breaks and he has to wipe the tears that are falling down his face. Robbe whipped away his own tears and mouths “me too” across to Sander. </p><p>They exchange the rings, and say “I do,” and then Milan yells “kiss!” </p><p>They both step forward, and Robbe’s arms come up around Sander’s neck, Sander’s hands on Robbe’s waist. And he kisses Robbe, longer than what should be appropriate for a wedding, but what the hell. And when he breaks the kiss, it’s so that he can tuck his head into the cook of Robbe’s neck as everyone cheers. </p><p>“We did it,” Robbe whispers softly into his ear. Sander laughs and hugs him tighter. </p><p>“I love you cutie,” Sander says, finally letting go of Robbe to take his hand. Their rings clink together as they interlace their fingers. </p><p>They walk back down the aisle like that, hand in hand. Sander can see his mom in the audience, a wide smile on her face. She had been there when he was freaking out about proposing to Robbe. She had told him not to worry, that Robbe had stuck by him for 5 years, there was no way he was going to say no. </p><p>And Robbe hadn’t said no. And now they were here. </p><p>Sander holds Robbe as they sway to heros, their first dance. Robbe’s hands are bunched in the back of Sander’s suit jacket; his cheek pressed against Sander’s. Sander sings along, whispering the words softly in Robbe’s ear. They both laugh, completely wrapped up in how happy they are. </p><p>The whole night is amazing. Robbe pulls away from Sander to dance with his mama, and for a moment Sander just stands there watching as his husband spins his mother-in-law around on the dance floor.</p><p>His own mother finds him a few minutes later, slips her arm around his waist and pulls him close. </p><p>“I'm happy that you're happy, darling,” she says, resting her head on Sander’s shoulder. </p><p>“Thanks mum,” Sander replies. They fall silent, watching Robbe giggle and sway to the music with mama Ijzermans. </p><p>“I'm sorry that your father and I weren't the best example of love for you growing up,” his mama says, “but i'm glad that you and Robbe will be able to be good examples for your children.” </p><p>“We’re too young for that mum,” Sander says with a smile. His mama laughs. “I know darling, but in the future you could be.” </p><p>Yes, some day in the future. </p><p>“I love you,” his mama says, “and i'm glad that you are happy, because you deserve it, after everything our family went through.” </p><p>“It was rough at times,” Sander admits, “but in the end, everything worked out. I have learned from my mistakes. I have you, and Camille, and Robbe, and the future's looking good.”</p><p>“Yes it is,” his mama whispers. </p><p>They stay like that for a while, watching as Robbe walks mama Ijzermans back to her seat and goes back to dance with Jens and Luc and the boys. Sander smiles as Jens tries to get Robbe to do some sort of coordinated dance with him and Moyo, Robbe protesting as he gets dragged into the mayhem. </p><p>“Go get your man,” his mama whispers, then smiles and walks away. </p><p>So Sander walks onto the dance floor, where his husband and his friends are laughing and dancing. Robbe notices him and takes his hand and pulls him in. They dance facing each other, Sander’s hands on Robbe’s waist and Robbes arms thrown loosely around Sander’s neck. </p><p>Sander kisses him, and it reminds him of that december night all those years ago, everyone gathered in Robbe’s flat, dancing and cheering as Robbe kissed him in front of all their friends. They had been young then, but still so in love. And now, 5 years later, Robbe is still his man. His everything. </p><p>Robbe tucks his head into the crook of Sander’s shoulder. “Minute by minute,” he whispers, so quietly that Sander can barely hear him over the music. </p><p>“Minute by minute,” Sanders whispers back. Robbe looks up, smiling wide. “It's been a good minute, hasn't it?” he says. Sander nods and bumps their noses together. “Yes it has,” he agrees.   </p><p>Sander holds Robbe tight, oblivious to everything happening around them. This minute was just for him and his husband, him and Robbe. </p><p>---------</p><p>They hadn’t really talked about having children. They had never discussed it, not really, and yet Lotte just happened. </p><p>Sander volunteers for a children’s art program during the summer. The kind where all the children do fingerprinting in one big room with lazy wooden ceiling fans. The kind of summer program where the parents all stay after and chat with the teachers. </p><p>There is this woman, her name is Dana and her son is a little lunatic with no artistic talents. She works with foster kids, orphans and stuff like that. She tells Sander about this baby girl that she’s taking care of until they could transfer her to a family or an orphanage. </p><p>She shows Sander a picture of her, this little chubby raisin wrapped in a blanket. And he goes home that night, and he can’t stop thinking about that baby. He keeps picturing Robbe holding her in his arms. Sander never told him this, but he had always thought Robbe would be the greatest dad ever. He’s so kind and caring and compassionate. </p><p>So Sander thinks about it for a week or so. What if they did adopt that baby? They are both still young, yes, but they were young when they met and young when they got engaged. But Sander dosen’t know if he’s ready to be a dad. He barely knows how to take care of himself, how is he going to take care of a baby? </p><p>He always wanted a family. He found that with Robbe, with his warm touch and kind smile. After his actual family had gone to shit and his dad had left and his mom had shut down, he wasn’t left with many good memories. There were the croques on Sunday mornings, but that ended when sander was 11, when his dad decided to fuck off for good. </p><p>His family had never really taken care of each other. Sander had learned to live independently at age 13. He made breakfast for him and his sister, he biked to school, he got a job at 15 working at a local coffee shop. They didn’t depend on each other like a normal family does. </p><p>He wants to have a family though. He takes care of Robbe, and Robbe takes care of him. That’s how they work. Sander decides that even if he’s shit at being a dad, he won’t ever leave like his own father did, like robbe’s father. </p><p>So one night after he gets home from work, when he and Robbe are curled up on the couch amidst boxes of take out, Sander says, “there’s this mom at the art camp, and she’s taking care of this baby.” </p><p>Robbe takes a bite of food and says, “yeah?”</p><p>“Well I was thinking that… I don’t know, we haven’t really talked about this much, but would you want to maybe, adopt her?”</p><p>Robbe sits up, half smiling, half puzzled. “This is sudden.”</p><p>Sander puts his face in his hands. “I know, I just- she showed me a picture of the baby, she’s all little and cute and I couldn’t get it out of my head. I kept thinking about how shit my family was, and how that baby would look in your arms.”</p><p>His voice is soft, nervous and timid. </p><p>Robbe looks at him and smiles. “Do you think we’re ready for this?” He asks.</p><p>Sander nods. “I’ve always thought you’d be a great dad, Robbe.”</p><p>“You’re going to be a great dad too.”</p><p>Sander laughs, half with joy and half with disbelief. “You're on board? You want to do this?”</p><p>Robbe nods and takes Sander’s shaking hands. “I love you more than anything Sander. And if you want a family, I do too.”</p><p>And in that moment, Sander loves Robbe more than anything. What did he do to deserve this boy, who’s sitting in front of him in an oversized sweater that shows his slender collarbone, hair messy and eyes bright, a wide smile on his face, agreeing to raise a child with him. </p><p>The next week at art camp, he tells Dana that he’s interested in adopting that child, that she doesn't have to give it to an orphanage or a foster family. Dana just looks at him and says, “are you even old enough to adopt a child?” He nods. “I’m 25.”  </p><p>She looks at him skeptically. “You want to be a single father at 25? Shouldn’t you be doing something better with your life?”</p><p>Sander shakes his head. “I never really had a real family when I was growing up; my dad left and my mom disconnected and it was just me and my sister fending for ourselves. But I met the love of my life when I was 18, and we got married a few years ago, and we want to have a family of our own.”</p><p>Dana smiles. “And what’s her name?”</p><p>There’s always this awkward moment, before he corrects people. Before it was, “my boyfriend,” now it’s, “my husband.”  </p><p>And Sander hates that most people are surprised by it. They always say “oh,” not always mean, but always surprised. </p><p>Sander thinks it’s because he has tattoos, or because he wears a leather jacket and heavy boots. Maybe people don’t think he can be married to a boy just because he doesn’t “look the part.” Robbe tells him about that a lot, how he feels like to be gay, you have to be the stereotypical version of a gay person. And Sander feels that every time someone in the street looks at them weird for holding hands. </p><p>Not that everyone Sander meets is homophobic, they’re just always surprised, which makes him feel more alienated somehow. Like, people are fine with him being married to a boy, they just need to acknowledge that he’s the minority. </p><p>“His name is Robbe,” Sander tells Dana quietly. And then comes the “oh!” Along with a nod and an “ok. I’ll give you the paperwork tomorrow then.” She smiles at Sander, and then walks away to collect her child out of the many roaming around. </p><p>He calls Robbe after all the kids get picked up. He’s leaning against the wall just around the corner from the front entrance, the wind cutting through his thin flannel jacket, but he doesn’t care. </p><p>Robbe picks up on the 3rd ring. “Hey love.”</p><p>Sander smiles, just at his voice, because even years later, Robbe still has that effect on him. </p><p>“I talked to Dana, and it’s happening. We’re going to be parents.” Sander can’t keep the smile out of his voice. </p><p>He can hear Robbe exhale on the other end of the line. “That’s great” </p><p>“I’ll be home soon, ok? There’s stuff in the fridge, I’ll make dinner and we can celebrate.”</p><p>“Ok. I’ll see you soon.”</p><p>Sander hangs up and sighs. This is his life now. And it’s amazing. </p><p>And 4 months later, Sander is holding a baby girl in his arms. She’s so little and fragil, and Sander knows that he’s never going to let anything hurt her. </p><p>He turns to Robbe, and he can’t contain the smile on his face. “Look at her,” he whispers. </p><p>Robbe nods. There are tears in his eyes. Neither of them can really speak, both too stunned but the fact that this is real and happening. </p><p>“Do you want to hold her?” Sander asks, moving closer to robbe. Robbe nods, and Sander gently transfers her into his arms. </p><p>Robbe holds her like he’s been a father for years. Sander presses up against Robbe’s side and wraps his arm around his waist. Robbe turns his head, so that their noses are almost touching. </p><p>“Our daughter,” Robbe whispers, resting his forehead against Sander’s. </p><p>It’s so surreal, the fact that this is even happening. </p><p>“What should we name her?” Robbe asks quietly. </p><p>“I don't know,” Sander replys softly. “Any ideas?”</p><p>She's woken up now. She has a tiny little nose and eyes green like Sander’s and a shock of brown hair on her head. </p><p>“It’s kinda lame, but Jen’s little sister is named Lotte, and I’ve always thought it was a good name,” Robbe says quietly as the baby in his arms grabs onto his shirt with a chubby fist. </p><p>Sander smiles. “Lotte… I like it.” He presses his face into Robbe’s shoulder. Robbe kisses the top of his head gently and says, “Lotte Ijzermans-Driesen.”</p><p>That makes Sander laugh. “Are you purposely putting your last name first?” He asks teasingly. </p><p>“It sounds better that way,” Robbe replies with a sheepish smile.  </p><p>Lotte begins to squirm in Robbe’s arms, reaching up her little arms and babbling incoherently. Robbe shifts her so that she’s sitting on his hip </p><p>“How are you already such a good dad?” Sander asks. Robbe smiles a little, tilts his head up at Sander, and says, “I don’t know.”</p><p>And Sander kisses him, short and sweet. And when he leans down to put his head on Robbe’s shoulder, Lotte reaches up and grabs his bright locks with her fists. Robbe starts to laugh as she tugs on Sander’s hair. “She likes your hair,” he says with a smile. </p><p>“She does,” Sander laughs, and watches as Robbe laughs and holds their baby girl, watched as their family grows into three. He lets Lotte pull on his hair and giggle in baby gibberish. </p><p>Sander has never felt so full of love. He’s never had a family, not really, not for real and actually, and now he does. He has his brown eyed boy, they have a little girl, and they are a family. </p><p>——-</p><p>It’s hard, raising a child. </p><p>Sander gets no sleep. Not like he really did before Lotte, but he really doesn’t now. </p><p>He doubts himself a lot. He doesn’t know if he’s fit to raise a kid. He gets fed up when Lotte won’t stop crying, or when he’s late for work because she wouldn’t eat breakfast. </p><p>Robbe is so patient with Lotte. He holds her when she cries and rocks her in his arms until she falls asleep. Sander will get home from work and find them both on the couch, exhausted and eyes barely open. </p><p>Robbe is patient and kind with both of them, he holds Sander during his bad days and takes care of Lotte at the same time. </p><p>Sander tries his best at being a good father. He’s obviously more of a crazy parent, but he’s getting the hang of things. He paints with Lotte on weekend mornings while Robbe makes breakfast. He’ll put down newsprint on the living room floor and let Lotte shove her chubby baby fingers into his acrylic paints. </p><p>They keep every painting she does, even though they’re mostly just colorful blobs on copy paper. </p><p>It’s weird, because they're still so young, and they still both have lives. Most people their age are going out and having fun, getting drunk, falling in love. For Robbe and Sander, that already happened. </p><p>Instead, they spend their Friday nights curled up on their couch watching a movie, or lying on the floor with Lotte, laughing as she crawls around the living room. </p><p>Or sometimes, Sander will put on his records, (Bowie of course), and they’ll all dance around the room. Sander puts his arms around Robbe’s waist and hooks his chin over his shoulder and they’ll sway while Lotte clings to Robbe’s legs. </p><p>Sander also draws a lot now. He always has, he just has more time now. He draws Lotte often, along with Robbe. He takes more photos too. There’s some photos he has of Robbe asleep on the couch with Lotte in his arms, and Sander is pretty sure they’re the best photos he’s ever taken. There’s something about seeing his lovely husband and daughter snuggled up after a long day that makes Sander so happy. </p><p>He puts one up on the fridge, and Robbe smiles wide when he notices it.  </p><p>Camille comes over sometimes to babysit, so they can go have a proper night out once and awhile. Robbe and Camille coincidentally go to the same university, Robbe in post-graduates to be a doctor and Camille studying to be psychiatrist. </p><p>Sander meanwhile works as a graphic designer. It's not exactly the type of art that he likes the best, but it's nice to have a creative job that pays well. When both him and Robbe are at work or at school, they'll drop Lotte off at one of their mom’s houses. Sander’s mom works every other day, and loves to see her granddaughter on her days off. As for Robbe’s mom, she's just happy to have someone keep her company. </p><p>Sometimes when Robbe and Sander show up to pick Lotte up from her house, they walk in to discover that Robbe’s mom has made dinner for them. She's the kindest woman Sander has ever met, and Lotte absolutely loves her. </p><p>Those nights are some of Sanders' favorites. They’ll all sit at the dining room table and eat dinner, Lotte on Sander’s lap so he can feed her, Robbe and his mama smiling and talking from across the table. </p><p>After long days like those, they’ll go back to their flat and put Lotte to sleep and savor the quiet moments in each other's arms. Robbe lays against his chest, fingers lazily playing with Sander’s hair, talking about his classes and the dumb shit the broerrrrs have been up to. </p><p>It’s nice to have this moment of quiet just for them. To have Robbe, soft hair and skinny collarbones and all, in his arms. </p><p>And right now, Sander has everything he needs. Because Robbe and Lotte, they are everything. </p><p>—- </p><p>There’s moments when Sander doesn’t feel like his life is real. He never really thought his life would turn out good. He assumed that he’d be broke, living in some shitty apartment, dating people who’d almost always leave him. </p><p>Because before Robbe, they always did leave, with the exception of Britt. But she had cared more about playing the hero by tolerating his illness instead of actually caring about him. </p><p>Before Britt, there was a boy named Max. He had brown eyes, dark hair and he left Sander because he was scared that someone would find out they were together.  </p><p>And before Max there was Sophie, who broke up with him over the phone after he almost jumped off a roof the night before. </p><p>It was one of Sander’s first manic episodes, before he was diagnosed. He wasn't suicidal or anything; he was scared shitlesss and he thought he could fly, so he tried to jump. </p><p>Elias had caught him, pulled him back. And the next morning, his heart got broken, and he had wished that he had actually jumped off that roof. </p><p>And then there was Robbe. </p><p>Robbe, with his sweet smile and fluffy brown hair. Robbe who told him he would find someone who loved him. Robbe who held him when he cried, who agreed to marry him, who stayed, despite everything. </p><p>And Sander’s life is actually good. It’s really good. He has a family, he has Robbe and Lotte and they have him. And it’s better than Sander ever imagined his life being.</p><p>——</p><p>So yeah, there is so much love in Robbe’s life now. </p><p>He found the love of his life. He found a bleach blond, Bowie loving, artistic boy, who loves him. He married that boy.   </p><p>And that boy is next to him now, drinking coffee, bare-chested with messy hair and tired eyes. </p><p>Robbe sets down his own cup of coffee and snuggles into Sander’s side, wraps his arms around his waist and tucks his head into Sander’s neck like the koala that he is. </p><p>“What’s up?” Sander asks, carding his free hand through robbe’s hair. </p><p>Robbe smiles. “Nothing. I just love you.” He presses a kiss to Sander’s cheek. </p><p>“I love you too, cutie.”</p><p>They stay like that until Robbe hears little footsteps coming down the hall. Lotte is tall enough now to reach door handles, and she comes teetering into the room and climbs onto Robbe and Sander’s bed. </p><p>“Hey sweetheart!” Robbe exclaims, pulling her up in between them. Lotte giggles and scrunches up her nose. </p><p>“Papa!” She squeals and climbs on Robbe’s lap. That’s just how it is, Robbe is ‘papa’ and Sander is ‘dad’ or ‘daddy.’  </p><p>Sander sets down his cup of coffee and riffles Lotte's hair. “So what do we want for breakfast today?” He asks, moving to wrap his arms around Robbe and pull both of them into his chest. </p><p>“Croques!” Lotte chirps. Sander smiles. “Croques it is then!” </p><p>Robbe watches as Sander gets out of bed and hastily pulls on a shirt, then picks Lotte up from Robbe’s lap. She giggles as Sander settles her on his hip and says, “you can help me make them, you little rascal.”</p><p>He presses a quick kiss to Robbe’s cheek and walks out of their bedroom to the kitchen. Robbe takes another sip of his coffe before getting up and joining them. </p><p>This is his little family; Sander and Lotte. Robbe has them, and he doesn't think he needs anything else. He watches from the kitchen table as Sander helps Lotte assemble the croques, laughing when she drops a cheese slice on the floor, and he doesn't think he would trade this beautifully mundane morning for anything else in the world.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>thanks for reading! <br/>let me know what you think and leave me some comments!<br/>or come yell at me on Tumblr @ikheeftdebrood </p><p>stay safe, wash your hands, stay inside ❤️</p></blockquote></div></div>
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